Kate Chaney says ‘courageous conversations’ required as Australia seeks ways to strengthen the budget and reinvigorate productivity

• Analysis: If the economics of broadening or lifting Australia’s GST are challenging, the politics are horrendous

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A bold proposal to give Australians an extra $3,300 per year in exchange for a rise in the goods and services tax is being treated with caution by the major parties.

Kate Chaney, an independent MP from WA, has called for the implementation of a “progressive GST model” as the federal government looks for ways to reinvigorate Australia’s languishing productivity and strengthen the budget at an economic round table. Under the plan, first proposed by the economist Richard Holden, Australia would lift the rate of the consumption tax from 10% to 15% and apply it to exempt items like food, education and health.

Source: Guardian - World News